Continental Croatia is a lot less explored than its coastal neighbour, but its views, hertiage and history is no less spectacular.
One of the tourism highlights for many are the wonderful castles dotted around the region, castles such as Trakoscan, near Varazdin.
Trakoscan was built in the late 13th century in northwestern Croatian defense system as a small observation fortress for monitoring the road from Ptuj to Bednja Valley.
According to legend, Trakoscan was named after the Thracian fortress (ARX Thacorum) which allegedly existed in antiquity. Another preserved legend says, it is named after the knights Drachenstein who in the early Middle Ages, ruled the region.
Toponym was first mentioned in written records in 1334. year. Lords of fort in the first centuries is not known, yet we know that the end of the 14th century. owners Counts of Celje, which the same time ruled with entire Zagorje County. The family soon become extinct and Trakoscan
shared the fate of their other towns and estates that were divided and changing owners. In these division Trakošćan such a unique property at first belongs to warlord Jan Vitovac then to Ivanis Korvin who gave it to his deputy John Gyulay. The family kept the castle for three generations and became extinct in 1566., and the estate was taken over by the state.
For services rendered king Maximilian gave the estate to Juraj Draskovic (1525th-1587th), first personally, then as the family heritage. So finally in 1584 Trakoscan belongs to Draskovic family.
In the boom years of building castles in Croatian Zagorje, in the second half of the 18th century Trakoscan was abandoned. Neglected, it begins to deteriorate rapidly so just in the second half of the 19th century., the family re-interested in its estate in the spirit of the new era romantic return to nature and family traditions. In this spirit marshal Juraj V. Draskovic in residential castle and the surrounding park was transformed into a romantic garden. The next generation occasionally stay in Trakoscan until 1944 when they immigrated to Austria soon after the castle was nationalized.
In 1954 the museum established with a permanent exhibition. Today the castle is owned by the Republic of Croatia.
